ALBION silenced a partisan and passionate home crowd with a hard-working draw against Greek champions Olympiacos.

Twice the Baggies came from behind against a strong side, who took leads through David Fuster.

The opener came inside the first two minutes, before Graham Dorrans equalised.

Spaniard Fuster added a second after he was brought down by Paul Scharner, before an excellent Jerome Thomas effort levelled the scores once more.

Olympiacos were impressive before the break but the visitors enjoyed more of the second-half, with Thomas, Dorrans and Paul Scharner’s contributions and efforts catching the eye. So too did Luke Daniels, who kept Albion on terms with a series of excellent first-half stops.

The Greek sides don’t seem to do friendlies. Somewhere in the region of 17000 were inside the impressive Karaiskakis stadium, within the shadows of several derelict and decaying Olympic arenas from seven years ago.

Olympiacos were vibrant. Certainly the fans were. More than two-and-half hours before kick-off, supporters were filing towards the 33,330 all-seater stadium. Flares and fireworks were released. This was clearly no kick-about.

They got some reward within the opening 100 seconds. Albion failed to clear a corner. The ball fell to David Fuster, who slammed a brilliant strike through a mass of players and past Luke Daniels.

Their joy wasn’t to last.Jerome Thomas was dragged down on the egde of the area. Prime Dorrans territory. The Albion midfielder didn’t seem to strike his shot cleanly, but it was enough to beat Franco Costanzo. Four minutes gone and 1-1.

Albion could have had a second. Dorrans, displaying confidence and willing to work the ball around midfield, found some room on the edge of the box. His strike was low and difficult, but Costanzo dealth with it, palming the ball away for a corner.

Greek heavy-weights Olympiacos grew in confidence. On 17 minutes, Kevin Mirallas skipped past Billy Jones, not for the first time. He delivered a ball into the box. Fuster and Scharner tangled, the Olympiacos man fell first and referee Aristomenis Koutsaftis awarded the spot-kick. Fuster smashed it in.

It could have been three within minutes when Djebbour’s header from another Mirallas centre managed to loop over Daniels but found Gareth McAuley on the line.The Albion defender managed to get a head onto the ball, smashing it onto the bar and away.

Albion were creaking. Jose Holebas smashed one over from 20-yards as the game ticked by. Luke Daniels - Albion No1 for the night, probable No3 soon - was being tested frequently. Franco Costanzo, meanwhile, was less busy in front of his goal.

Yet it was two two in the 47th minute. Jerome Thomas drifted in from the left wing, breezed past former Villa defender Olof Mellberg and lifted a shot over Costanzo’s head. It silenced the home fans if nothing else.

Dorrans could have scored a third just before the hour. After taking a brilliant left-wing ball onto his chest, he drove his right-footer wide of Costanzo’s post, having beaten Papadopolous to the punch.

Thomas was to test the keeper’s agility once more in the 85th minute when he tried to repeat his earlier trick. This time Costanzo was wise to the effort.